The Sweetest Scent
by Lil' Signing Angel
Summary: How can something as simple as a scent mean so much? It's my first InuYasha fanfic, so please be nice to me and review! (Rated for a certain someones, coughInuyashacough, choice of words)
1. Nightmares and Dream

The Sweetest Scent

:: Aoura Maiden ::

"No...wait....don't....No! KAGOME!"

InuYasha sat up as fast as lightning. His heart was beating so fast he thought it would burst and his chest hurt from the heavy breathing. Looking around, he realized that he was still in the clearing where the group had stopped earlier that evening. Sango was sleeping a few feet away with Shippo and Kirara curled up next to her. Miroku was sitting besides the fire; his staff's resting across his lap and his 'special' right hand on top of his knee.

"InuYasha, are you alright?" Miroku asked, staring at the ½ demon with some concern.

"Yeah," InuYasha slowly, thinking back to the horrible vision that that had caused him to awake with such a start.

"Dreaming of Kagome?" The young monk inquired, setting his staff down and stretching out his legs.

"What do you know monk?" InuYasha snapped.

"I know what I've heard you muttering about in your sleep and what you cry out when they turn evil in your mind." Miroku looked away as he picked up his staff again and began to stir the embers of the fire. InuYasha glared at him.

"Shut up," he muttered, leaning back against the tree. 'Is that all it is? Just me dreaming?' he asked himself. He had been having more and more dreams about Kagome, especially when she goes back to her own time.

For the past few weeks, the group had been traveling all over in search of shards of the Shikon jewel and yet, they have come up empty handed. They have also been searching far and wide for Naraku, the demon who turned Kikyo and InuYasha against each other 50 years ago; who cursed Miroku's family with the void in his hand; who possessed Sango's brother, Kohaku, to kill her father, their companions and Sango herself!

He has made numerous incarnations of himself and killed more innocent people then anyone could count. In the end, his goal of it all is to kill InuYasha. The reason for his hate towards InuYasha, they discovered, had to do with Kikyo. Naraku was once a bandit named Onigumo. A crippled and broken human who fell in love with Kikyo, the priestess who took care of him when anyone else would have left him for dead. But, when Kikyo decided to give up her Miko powers, which protected Onigumo from demons, for InuYasha's love, his heart turned evil. He gave himself to a hoard of demons to give him a new body, creating Naraku. The one thing that is clear is that Naraku refuses to stop his reign of terror until InuYasha is dead.

"InuYasha, if you are so concerned about Kagome, why not go through the well and get her?" Miroku suggested after a few minutes of nothing except the crackling of the fire and the chirping crickets of the surrounding forests. "You know you are the only one, other then Kagome, who can travel though it." Kagome had returned to her own time just over 3 days before to get more supplies and to check in with her family.

'Maybe I should," InuYasha thought to himself. She was the only one who was able to see the Shikon shards and had inherited Kikyo's master archery skills. But it was so dangerous in his era. He could no longer count how many times they could have lost their lives.

"No." He answered flatly. "The longer she stays in her own time, the more I can concentrate on finding Naraku and killing him." And the safer Kagome will be, he added to himself. If she was in her own time, she was away from danger, although she is away from him. "I don't need her around as a distraction." He added to cover up his concern for her.

"Oh and without her here, you'll be able to handle that new Tetsusaiga of yours?" Miroku commented. This bothered InuYasha even more. Ever since his Tetsuaiga had been repaired using one of his own fangs, InuYasha had been having more problems wielding it. He seemed to only be able to handle it effortlessly when Kagome was in danger. This meant she had to be in his era.

"Don't start with me, Miroku," InuYasha threatened.

"I'm just stating what you already know." Miroku said. InuYasha could have easily argued with Miroku for hours on this subject, be decided against it, knowing that eventually, he'd loose.

"Humph. I don't see her crawling back here. Why do I always need to be the one who goes to get _her_?" InuYasha spat. Miroku simply sighed and returned his attention to the fire.

'He never learns, does he?' Miroku asked himself. 'How could one ½ demon be so stubborn and have so much pride?'

:-:

The next day, the group packed up their camp and took off on their continuous journey. Shippo rode with Sango on Kirara as they soared above the trees to get a better view of what, if anything, they would be coming up against. InuYasha ran across the tree tops with his demon stealth and speed while Miroku followed him on the forest floor. They knew they were headed in the right direction after their last encounter with Naraku just a few days before.

Everyone had their guard high in anticipation of running into Naraku or one of his numerous incarnations again. After traveling like this for almost the entire day, everyone was beginning to feel the effects of the relentless traveling. Kirara had been steadily slowing her pace and Miroku seemed to be having more problems keeping up with the demons in the group. Even InuYasha, who was usually the last one to stop, could be seen slowing down. Finally, after not seeing anything all day, the group decided to go back to Kaede's village for some much needed rest and nourishment.

"So, no luck with finding Naraku's fortress?" Kaede asked, dishing out some fresh cooked rice into a bowl and handing it to InuYasha.

"No. We've searched all over and have, once again, come up empty handed." Miroku explained, sitting down besides Sango. "And without Kagome here, we have even less of a chance of finding the jewel shards." He added as everyone glanced over at InuYasha, who sat facing out the door, looking in the direction of the Bone Eaters Well; the well Kagome came out of. Setting his untouched bowl of rice down on the floor, InuYasha stood up and walked out of Kaede's hut without a word.

"InuYasha?" Kaede called after him. "InuYasha! Where are you going?"

"If he's not going to finish, can I have his rice?" Shippo asked, not even bothering to notice the concern on everyone's face regarding InuYasha.

"Shippo, can't you even pretend to be concerned about InuYasha?" Sango asked.

"Why should I be concerned?" Shippo asked in response, taking InuYasha's bowl. "He always gets like this when he's wrong or when Kagome leaves. She'll be back in a few days and he'll go back to being his normal, bossy, mean self!" And with that final statement, he began to greedily eat up InuYasha's dinner.

:-:

InuYasha walked though the village and into the surrounding forest. Not paying much attention to where he was going, he soon realized where his feet had led him. Looking up, he found himself standing in a clearing. He had gone directly to the Bone Eater's Well.

"Kagome," he whispered into the wind. Sitting down besides the well, InuYasha sighed heavily. Why was he feeling this way? He felt so tired and alone, even when he was around Miroku, Sango and the others. Whenever Kagome returned to her own time, he felt like a weight was bearing down on his shoulders. He was either hostile and easy to anger or melancholy and depressed.

Suddenly, a scent in the air caught his attention. Kagome! Jumping to his feet, InuYasha gazed down into the well, waiting for Kagome to appear. But after a few minutes of staring at the bottom of the empty well, he finally backed away. Maybe he was thinking about her so much that he was sensing her when she wasn't even there? Then again, this was the one place where Kagome's scent was all over since she came and went so often.

Realizing that the well was still empty, InuYasha decided to return to the village. As he passed though the forest again, he stopped in front of _the tree_. The tree to which he was bound to for 50 years; where he last saw Kikyo before he was taken by her magic arrow. Where he was freed by Kagome; where they first met. Her scent was here too, along with Kikyo's. Both faint, but very distinct.

They were so similar and yet, so very different. Their scents represented their personalities too. Kikyo was strong and true. Kagome was smart and caring. They both cared for InuYasha and he cared about both of them.

"Ahhh! What am I supposed to do?" He shouted at the tree, dropping down to his knees. He hung his head, hoping his heart would tell him what to do.

"InuYasha?" a soft voice asked from behind him. Jumping up, he spun around to come face to face with Kagome. "InuYasha, are you alright? What's wrong?" Her voice was full of heartfelt concern for him. Looking at her, InuYasha felt the weight that had been bearing down on him, lift and disappear. The restlessness inside him was suddenly calmed.

"InuYasha? What's wrong?" She repeated after receiving no response except a blank stare. "Did something happen? Where are Miroku and Sango and Shippo? Is everyone alright?"

"They're fine." He finally answered, turning his gaze back to the tree.

"So what's wrong?" Setting her heavy bag down on the forest floor, she approached InuYasha and looked up at him with concern. He so rarely was this quiet and reserved. Something must have happened. Then, another thought came to her mind.

"H...have you seen...seen..." Kagome could hardly speak her name.

"What are you babbling about?" InuYasha spat, knowing in the back of his mind exactly what she was trying to say. Kagome looked up at him again and decided not to continue. He would only deny the fact that his mind was on Kikyo again. She sighed heavily in defeat.

"Nothing," she answered. The two stood under the shade of the sacred tree for a while, neither saying a word nor being able to look at the other. Finally, InuYasha decided to break the silence.

"So, are...are you going to stay for a while?" His voice seemed sort of distant, as if he was talking in his sleep. Kagome looked up at him. He was now facing her, his amber eyes fixated on her as he spoke. His expression was unusual though. It wasn't the harsh, jealous, stubborn look he usually had, but a soft, almost sad expression. What was going though that mind of his?

"Uh...yeah, for a little while." She replied. His eyes suddenly shone with what Kagome guessed, was happiness.

"Everyone is back at Kaede's hut. She just made dinner." His stomach suddenly rumbled, signifying that he had not eaten yet.

"Sounds like it's time to go then." Kagome said, reaching down to pick up her book bag. InuYasha's clawed hand suddenly came out of no where and snatched up the bag before Kagome could touch it.

"I got it." He said, slinging it over his shoulder as he began towards Kaede's hut. Kagome smiled and was about to thank him when he added. "I don't want anything to happen to my Ramen. You brought it, right?" A cold chill suddenly ran up InuYasha's spine. Stopping dead in his tracks, he slowly turned around and he came face to face with a demon; no, it wasn't a demon, it was Kagome! But at the moment, it was difficult to tell the difference. Realizing that he had done something wrong, he began to slowly back away.

"Uhh...Kagome...why are you...what's that look...," It was then the thought hit him as to what was about to happen. "No, Kagome, wait...I...I..." But his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"InuYasha...SIT!" She commanded. A second later, there was a heavy 'THUD' and a dent in the ground, where InuYasha lay, mumbling in pain. "Serves you right." Kagome added as she stalked off towards Kaede's village.

"Stupid girl." InuYasha muttered as he slowly rose to his feet. Unfortunately, he didn't wait long enough for Kagome to be out of earshot.

"SIT!" Rang through out the forest again, followed by another painful 'THUD'.

:-:

That night, while everyone else slept, Kagome lay awake, thinking. Knowing that she would never get any sleep this way, she decided to go out and get some air. Sneaking out of Kaede's hut, she slowly began to walk through the village. Not wanting to draw any attention to herself, she wandered out of the village and into the surrounding forest. She had been there enough times to know the paths. Following the path she knew the best, she continued until she entered a clearing. The sacred well stood in front of her. Sitting down on the edge of the well, she pulled out the container that held the Shikon shards, which hung around her neck.

"These jewel shards," she thought, "We got them from other demons. All of them had increased their powers and were using them for evil." Remembering all the battles InuYasha had fought in against a demon with a jewel shared, she shivered. "If we collect all the shards and return the jewel to its original form, what will InuYasha do?"

Speaking of the half-demon himself, InuYasha was beginning to head towards the well himself. He too, was unable to sleep that night, and thought a walk would do him good. His mind was reeling with thoughts, some of which frightened his very soul. He couldn't stop thinking about his transformations. How much destruction he caused and how many people he hurt. Suddenly, his nose picked up Kagome's scent again. Rushing forward, he stopped just before he reached the clearing.

What was he doing? Kagome was in the village! He was probably sensing her scent from the well again. As he was turning around to return to the village, he heard a soft sigh. Following his instincts, he headed back towards the well again. This time, when he emerged from the trees, he found a surprise. Kagome was there, sitting on the well. What she going back already?! But she just arrived!

Slowly, so as not to startle her, InuYasha approached her. She seemed so lost in her thoughts she didn't even realize he was there.

"What's wrong with you" InuYasha asked. Kagome looked up in surprise. She thought she was still alone. How long had he been there, watching her?

"Nothing, I was just thinking." Kagome answered half heartedly.

"Thinking? About what? Probably that stupid 'school' stuff again. You should be concentrating on finding more Shikon Shards!"

"My school work is not stupid! I have to do well if I want to get in to a good high school and university!" Kagome yelled. "And besides, I wasn't even thinking about school." She added harshly.

"So what were you thinking about?" He asked in a smug tone.

"I was...was..." Kagome didn't really want to have to tell him the truth.

"See, I knew it. It was that school thing."

"No! I was thinking about you!" She shouted. InuYasha pulled back slightly in surprise.

"M...me?" He stuttered.

"Yeah. I was just thinking about..." How could she put this? "When we are finished, and have collected all the jewel shards," she started, "do you...do you still intend on becoming a full demon?" InuYasha stepped forward in a motion of anger.

"What?! I... I..." he had answered the question so many times before, but this time, he had difficulty getting the words out.

"I thought so." She said sadly, turning away from him. InuYasha didn't really know what to do now. Moving around Kagome so that he could try to see her face, he found something that surprised him; tears.

"What? Why are you crying?" He asked urgently. Sitting down on the ground in front of her, he attempted to look her in the eye, but found it impossible, as she was hiding her tear filled eyes behind her hands. "Look, I'm sorry." He said, turning his back to her. He couldn't bring himself to look at her as he spoke. "To be honest, I have been thinking about it." He sighed heavily before continuing. He was so deep in his own thoughts; he never realized that Kagome had fallen silent.

"I had talked with...with Kikyo about this before. She told me that I was part human, and that I didn't have to become a demon." He paused. "Growing up, all I could dream of doing was becoming a full fledged demon. She was the one who told me that I had another option; to become fully human. It was something I had never considered before." He waited for Kagome to say something, but no words came.

"When I'm separated from my Tetsusaiga and I transform, I...I have no control over what I do. I go after everything and everyone in my path and then, when I come out of it, I don't remember any of it." His voice suddenly became very soft. "I don't want to have to worry that I might, one day, turn my attack on Sango, Miroku, Shippo....or you. I could never forgive myself if I did anything to hurt you." Suddenly, InuYasha heard a soft whimper. Turning around, he found Kagome, looking down at him. Her shoulders shook as she took in heavy, difficult breathes between sobs. "What's wrong now?"

"I...I never thought you were concerned about that." She said shakily. InuYasha scoffed.

"Ha. What do you take me for? Why wouldn't I be worried?" Kagome's breathing began to slow down a bit. "You're just a human. You wouldn't last 5 seconds against one of my attacks." Kagome sighed. She knew the dangers of being around InuYasha when he transformed and also knew that he had no control over what he did in that state. Did he really fear for her life?

"InuYasha. Do you...do you really mean it?" She asked with uncertainty. She slowly got down from her seat on the well and sat down besides InuYasha.

"Mean what?"

"Do you really mean that...that you were afraid of hurting me?" Kagome looked on as InuYasha did something she never prepared for. He reached out and pulled her in to an embrace. Holding her tightly against his own body, his long, white hair around her face, they remained.

"I don't know what I'd do if I ever did anything to hurt you, if I couldn't see you ever again." His voice was soft and sincere. The tears that were falling from Kagome's eyes never stopped. She reached out and wrapped her arms around him, holding him as tightly as he was holding her. "Don't ever leave me." He whispered. Kagome nodded slightly.

"I promise." She replied.

A/N: Well, this is my first InuYasha fanfic. I hope you liked it! I might come back and add more later but for now, this is it. I have another one that I'm almost ready to post, so after that one is put up, who knows! Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!

:: Aoura Maiden ::


	2. Scents and Feelings

The Sweetest Scent

Chapter 2: Familiar Scents and Strange Feelings

:-: Aoura Maiden :-:

The serenity lasted less then a week. Though, in that time, the rest of the group definitely noticed a difference in the two. Miroku, as usual, was the first to say something.

"So, it seems something has happened recently between you and Kagome." He commented to InuYasha one day as they were resting for lunch.

"What nonsense are you babbling now, Miroku?" InuYasha snapped. Sango, Kagome and Shippo were off getting some fresh water from a near by river while Miroku and InuYasha discussed their next plan of action.

"I've just noticed that you and Kagome have been getting along quite well the past few days. It's quite unlike you two." InuYasha scowled. Miroku continued unaware of the half-demon's reaction. "Usually, by this time, you'd have said something to offend her, Kagome would have used the 'S' word and gone back to her own time though the well. Leaving you face down in the dirt to think about how hard headed, rude, inconsiderate and stupid you've been."

Miroku had his back to InuYasha as he spoke, so he had no idea that the half demon was slowly approaching him, claws bared and ready to strike. Lucky for him, Kagome, Sango and Shippo had finally returned.

"InuYasha...sit!" Kagome commanded, seeing what Miroku could not.

"Gahhhh!" Was all InuYasha could cry out as he was pulled to the ground by the prayer beads around his neck.

"Oh, Kagome. You're back." Miroku said casually, standing and turning to face the arrivals. Stepping around the still grounded and mumbling InuYasha, he approached the women.

"Damn you wench..." InuYasha grumbled as he got shakily to his feet.

"Now InuYasha, that's no way to talk to Lady Kagome." Miroku said, slipping his hand over her shoulder. "Women, especially beautiful ones, should be treated with the up most respect." Kagome blushed. Sango scowled. Shippo turned away, knowing _exactly_ what was going to happen next.

"You know InuYasha, you could learn something from..." Kagome began but quickly stopped as Miroku's hand slid down from her shoulder to her lower back and a little beyond that. Letting out a shriek, Kagome pulled away from him and towards InuYasha as Sango, with amazing speed, took her place next to him. Though, instead of his hand making the move, it was Sango's.

SLAP!

Miroku's right cheek turned a bright shade of red and the shape of a hand was clearly visible.

"Heh. You want me to be more like _that_?" InuYasha asked Kagome as Sango began shouting at Miroku, who tried to explain that he was simply trying to prove a point.

"So, what was that you were saying about treating women with respect, Miroku?" Shippo asked playfully.

While Sango continued to reprimand Miroku and Shippo was being 'disciplined' by InuYasha for his most recent comment on how nice he looked with dirt on his face, Kagome sat back and enjoyed the beautiful day. She knew there was nothing she could do about the bickering so she simply took a seat under a near by tree and began to pet Kirara who jumped into her lap.

"Nice day, isn't it Kirara?" She asked the 2 tailed cat, who let out a happy purr in response. Sighing heavily as InuYasha attempted to strike poor Shippo for the umpteenth time, Kagome suddenly had a strange feeling; a familiar-strange feeling, an uneasily familiar feeling. She jumped to her feet, sending Kirara flying a few feet with an irritated hiss.

"Shards!" She said in shock. Everyone froze. Miroku and Sango had stopped arguing and InuYasha paused mid-hit, still gripping Shippo by his tail. They all turned and looked at Kagome.

"What?"

"There are Shikon shards near by!" She exclaimed. "Over there." She pointed towards the West. "And they're coming right at us! Really fast!" InuYasha dropped Shippo, who landed with a less then graceful 'thud', and began sniffing the air.

"Wolves." He growled. If there were shards moving that quickly towards them, and the scent of wolves lingered in the air that could only mean one thing. "Kouga. Why that dirty bastard son of a..."

"InuYasha!" Kagome threatened. Acting out of shock (though it was more out of fear) InuYasha fell silent, cowering backwards. He didn't want her to have to use _the word_ again.

Suddenly, the wind began to pick up. Everyone looked to Miroku, expecting him to have activated his wind tunnel for some reason, but found the rosary still encircled it, keeping it securely closed. InuYasha's sensitive nose quickly picked up a familiar scent on the strange wind; the scent of an enemy.

"I knew it was him." InuYasha snapped. "I could recognize that mangy mutts' scent a mile away." As the words left his mouth, he quickly shot a glance towards Kagome, to see if she had _the look_ that went with _the word_, but she didn't. He let out a sigh of relief. Taking another look at her, though, he noticed something was wrong. She was looking wide-eyed at a fixed point off in the distance, where the trees were beginning to sway and bend as the source of the strange winds neared.

"Uhh...Kagome?" Shippo asked, jumping on to her shoulder. "Hello? Kagome? Are you alright?" Kagome blinked, shook her head clear and looked around.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She finally answered. "It's just something about these shards that's giving me an uneasy feeling." Everyone stared at her with concern. "Something just doesn't feel right." Since Kagome was the only one who could see the shards, if she thought something was wrong, no one dared doubt it.

"Alright, you stay here." InuYasha ordered Kagome. "Miroku. Sango. Come on." The two nodded in agreement and began to follow the half demon in the direction of the strange winds.

"Kirara, stay here and protect Kagome!" Sango called back. Kirara jumped in front of Kagome, proving that she wouldn't budge if her life depended on it.

"Wait! InuYasha!" Kagome shouted after the group as they raced off.

"Don't worry Kagome. I'll protect you." Shippo reassured her proudly. Kagome gave him a half-hearted smile, but continued to stare off in the direction of her companions. Whatever was out there, it was waiting for them. Whatever was about to happen, it wasn't going to end in their favor.

"I have to go after them." She exclaimed, rushing off to join the others. With Shippo hanging on to her for dear life and Kirara making chase, Kagome lead the way, hoping against hope that nothing had happened to her friend, yet.

A/N: I know this chapter is a little shorter then the first, but I couldn't write the next part without posting this one first. Enjoy!!

:-: Aoura Maiden :-:


End file.
